Safety-hook.



W,'E. LUCAS.

SAFETY HOOK.

APPLlcAmN mw Dic. 4. 1915.

1,235,36. Patented-July 31, 1917.

WILLIAM E. LUCAS, (1Fk LYONSVILLE, CALIFORNIA.

SAFETY-Hoon.

Speci'cation of Letters Patent.

Patented Jury 31, 1917.

Application led December 4, 1915. SeriallNo. 65,003.

To all rwhom t may concern:

Be it known that I, W'ILLIAM E. LUCAS, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Lyonsville, in the county of Tehama and State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Safety-Hooks, of which theV following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in safety hooks. The type of safety hooks to which it specifically belongs is one which is provided with a hook upon which a chain cannot be linked directly as is true with the commonplace hook owing to an arrangement whereby the hook is closedk as it swings to different positions.

In such devices it is the usual practice to form a notch upon the block or casting carrying the hook, this notch serving as an outlet and inlet for a chain which it is desired to link onto the hook.

The leading feature of my invention consists in an arrangement of parts, in a device of the above character, which is simple, etlicient, inexpensive, yand thoroughly safe and` reliable in operation.

With the above and other objects in View my invention consists in the combination, arrangement, and details ofV construction disclosed in the drawings and specification, and then more particularly pointed out in the appended claim. p

In the drawings, wherein similar reference characters designate similar parts throughout the separate views,-

Figure l is a side elevation of my invention,

Fig. 2 is a top plan or edge view thereof,

Fig. 3 is a side elevationl thereof, with one plate removed, l

Fig. 1 is a transverse section on line G'--6 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 5 Fig. 1.

Referring to' the drawings which are merely illustrative of my invention the various parts of my improvement areA disclosed. Upon a suitable casting ,1, which may be a single plate or a pair of plates (the latter being shown by way of illustration) forming a bloclgthere is mounted for pivotal movement a hook Q, which is substantially a U-shaped member, consisting of a shank 3 and a bill 4, the respective inner edges 5 and 6 of said shank and bill being preferably disposed in parallel relation.

is a section taken'on liney 7.--7 of The recess formed bythe hook is just of such a width as to permit the link of a chain to be snugly disposed therein. The plates 7 and 8 of the block are connected together at each end by means of the spacer bars these bars being disposed betweensaid plates, secured to the latter by any suitable means such as the rivets 10. Inasmuch as the hook at each end of the block is constructed and mounted in exactly the same manner itwill suliice to describe but one of these hoo-ks.

The plates 7 and 8 are formed medial'ly of the longitudinal axis thereof and at opposite ends with pairs `of registering notches 11, these notches beingy disposed at right angles to the spacer bars 9. Drilled thrugh said plates at opposite ends and arranged between the spacer' bars and the notches and substantially ata median longitudinal line of said plates is an aperture in which is placed a pivot 12 upon which is" fulcrumed the inner circular boss 13 formed upon the shank of each hook. A chain 13 isadapted to have one of its links connected to the hook in the following manner.

lVhile the bill t of the hook 2, i's Ain the position shown at the left of Fig. 3', the link can be inserted directly into the notches 11,

after which the hook is swung around as shown in Fig. 1, (left end) in a. manner to cause the preferably pointed end of the bill of the hook to enter the loop of the link 5 then, by continuing to swing the hook upon its pivot the link may be drawn toward the inner edge of the hook as shown in Fig. 1, (right end). It will be'observed thatthe bill l is made ofsuch4k a length that ,its free end may moveV alongside of thel side edgesy Hand 15 and the rounded edges 16 of said plates, so as to project between said plates i at all points of its radial path which is in a plane concentric with the pivot 12. By thus arranging the hooks so as to' enable-the bill to swing around the end f the block, the accidental displacement of the rhook is prevented. The line of pull on ther chain will ordinarily dispose the link carriedby the hook in substantial alinement with the pair of notches 11, so asl to' vcause the shankk until the bill comes to rest upon the opposite end of the spacer bar 9, the latter mein-4 ber, therefore acting as a stop.

Removing the link calls for just the reverse operation of what has been described. It should be borne in mind that unless the hook or block is manually manipulated to place the hook either in the position shown at the left end of Fig. l or Fig. 3, it will be exceedingly difficult," as experiment has revealed, to remove the chain from the hook, which operation requires that the link be first Ymoved into the notches 1l, while the chain is held loosely in line with the longitudinal axis of the block, so as to permit the link to gradually move into the notches ll as the hook is swung around the block and out of the link. lt is material to my present invention that the notches be disposed in a. medial line of the longitudinal axis of the block, because so will be disposed the chain when it is pulled. Therefore, should there be any slack in the chain the hook can move toward either side of the block, carrying the link with it, this link following the rounded edges ofthe block .and being guided thereby. There is consequently no opportunity for the link, when the chain is under slack and shifted about, to enter the notches, without manual intervention, since pressure applied against the inner edge 5 of the shank results in throwing the hook around the round edges 16 over to one side, while pressure falling upon the inner edge 6 of the bill will cause the hook 2 to move around toward the opposite side. There is no mid-position for the link toassume so as to he free to enter the notches ll to released position, simply because the hook must be disposed substantially at right angles to the longitudinal anis of the block as is shown at the left'end of Figr, since then only willV the bill of the hook be free of the notches. To get in this position it is indispensable that the hook be at right angles to the block and the chain in alinement with the notches 1l thereof; yet this is impossible by mere accident as the hook carries the chain along with it as it swings. Hence only by manually holding the chain and manually withdrawing the bill of the hook from it may the parts be placed in the released position shown. rlhe action of my hook is, in contradistinction from the action ofhooks of an analogous nature more safe Vand reliable in that in the latter the notches are usuallyV formed at right angles to the aXis of the block which may permit the chain to accidentally or by skillful ma-y Copes of this patent may be obtained for nipulation, and without handling the hook separately, to work out of the notches when the hook rides adjacent these notches. lt will therefore be observed that the chain is held practically 'in the same position relatively to the block when it is under pull or in working position, and when it is under pull or manipulated to be released from the block. This is best shown in Fig. l, the chain shown at the right being in working position and at the left in a released position. n

l do not restrict myself to the use of my safety hook for any particular purposes, eX- clusire of others; many accidents have happened to the occupants of horse-propelled vehicles because of the unreliable trace connection to the ends of the whifiletree, etc., the traces working loose, the animal thus leaving the vehicle. To avoid a bad trace connection it is proposed to secure the traces or trace 18 up against the spacer bar 9 between the Vplates and S as shown in Fig. a, rivets lO securing the trace against displacement. A. link, chain, or other connecting element carried by the whiflletree is connected to the hook in the usual manner. In Fig. 5 l show the safety. hook block formed with a reduced lug 20 to which a chain of a stump puller is securedthe safety hook carrying the chain which is to be secured to the stump, etc. These and other variations are intended to be claimed herein.V

Having described my invention what, I claim as new is A A device of the kind described comprising a pair of plates, a transverse block to Ywhich said plates are secured at their outer ends, said plates being formed with registering` notchesV at right anglesto and in line with the center of said block, a pivot connectingy said plates between said block and notches and in line with the latter, and a U-shaped hook having its shank fulcrumed upon said pivot and adapted to close said notches when at right angles to said block, said hook including a bill of a length to swing with its pointbetween said plates concentrically of said pivot, said shank and bill providing parallel edges forming a means of guiding a link into said notches. Y

In testimony whereof l aliix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

wiLLn/rn n. Lucas.

7Witnesses z MARY Fien', VARREN h/lnrnvnn.

ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents. Washington, E. 43. 

